Movie Review for Spider-Man 3

Summary: Peter Parker has finally managed to strike a balance between his devotion to M.J. and his duties as a superhero. But there is a storm brewing on the horizon. When his suit suddenly changes, turning jet-black and enhancing his powers, it transforms Peter as well, bringing out the dark, vengeful side of his personality that he is struggling to control. Under the influence of the suit, Peter becomes overconfident and starts to neglect the people who care for him most. Forced to choose between the seductive power of the new suit and the compassionate hero he used to be, Peter must overcome his personal demons as two of the most-feared villains yet, Sandman and Venom, gather unparalleled power and a thirst for retribution to threaten Peter and everyone he loves.

                         Reviews of Spider-Man 3
By Kevin Carr of 7M Pictures (8/0)
            I was pretty impressed with how the script managed to juggle so many characters at once and actua...

By Rebecca Murray of About.com (8/0)
            The film actually leaves you hoping Raimi and Maguire will return for one more shot at making the...

By Mike McGranaghan of Aisle Seat (8/0)
            The "Spidey vs. himself" theme feels fresh to me, and the movie subsequently avoids that "three-p...

By Phil Villarreal of Arizona Daily Star (8/0)
            Mean Spider-Man wrecks city streets for no reason, makes sarcastic remarks, interpretive dances a...

By Eleanor Ringel Gillespie of Atlanta Journal-Constitution (7/0)
            No one will feel cheated -- the movie isn't a careless cop-out -- but somehow Spidey has gotten t...

By Eleanor Ringel Gillespie of Atlanta Journal-Constitution (5/3)
            ...the film is a disappointment overall.

                         Reviews of Spider-Man 3
By Lori Hoffman of Atlantic City Weekly (8/0)
            Spider-Man 3 [is] an enjoyable, if inconsistent entry in the superhero genre.

By Marjorie Baumgarten of Austin Chronicle (8/0)
            When cascading through the cityscape, Spider-Man 3 still makes us gasp with delight, but on Earth...

By Stella Papamichael of BBC (8/0)
            Despite a few knots in the story, that trademark combo of warmth, wit and charm keeps you hanging...

By Danny Minton of Beaumont Journal (8/0)
            The few cops seen are standing around watching like they are enjoying the show. Is Spiderman the...

By Emily Blunt of Blunt Review (8/0)
            There's oodles of sub-stories, and drama galore...

By Wesley Morris of Boston Globe (8/0)
            The movie has the curious effect of leaving you over-fulfilled.

                         Reviews of Spider-Man 3
By Bryant Frazer of Bryant Frazer's Deep Focus (8/0)
            Even though Tobey Maguire does self-regarding jackass pretty well, he lacks a comedian's light to...

By Fred Topel of Can Magazine (8/0)
            Okay, I'm calling it. Best year for movies ever. Now don't let me down, Hollywood. Spider-Man 3 i...

By Matthew De Abaitua of Channel 4 Film (8/0)
            The visceral stuff - the fighting and chasing - is great. The comedy is funny. But the film unrav...

By Peter Rainer of Christian Science Monitor (8/0)
            A let-down -- too much going on with too little to show for it. Director Sam Raimi and his team w...

By Jeffrey Overstreet of Christianity Today (8/0)
            With a sequence that threatens to turn the movie into Spider-Day Night Fever ... Raimi proves him...

By Jules Brenner of Cinema Signals (8/0)
            It leaves you with the feeling that the allure, the intensity of the excitement, the repeatable s...

                         Reviews of Spider-Man 3
By Joshua Tyler of CinemaBlend.com (8/0)
            There are three amazing movies wrapped up in Spider-Man 3, but they've been webbed together and d...

By Jeff Otto of cinemaobsession.com (8/0)
            The characterization suffers from one-dimensionality simply because there are just too many chara...

By Tom Charity of CNN.com (7/0)
            An extravagant three-ring circus of a movie from director Sam Raimi, but it's not without a strug...

By Mark Palermo of Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia) (8/0)
            It would be more suited as a Fantastic Four sequel.

By Cole Smithey of ColeSmithey.com (8/0)
            Gone is the bright tempo and unbridled enthusiasm of the first two movies that seemed to offer li...

By Jeffrey M. Anderson of Combustible Celluloid (8/0)
            Contains some of the most joyously nutty sequences ever to grace a summer blockbuster.

                         Reviews of Spider-Man 3
By Matt Brunson of Creative Loafing (8/0)
            This third installment is packed to the rafters with activity and excitement.

By Christopher Tookey of Daily Mail [UK] (8/0)
            Strangles itself in a web of pomposity.

By David Edwards of Daily Mirror [UK] (8/0)
            Everyone’s favourite arachnid returns in his slickest, smartest and darkest movie yet.

By Chris Vognar of Dallas Morning News (8/0)
            The combat showstoppers, though still too CG to be felt as much as they're admired, should thrill...

By Garth Franklin of Dark Horizons (8/0)
            A solid Summer movie with some glorious set pieces, but with so many subplots in play it struggle...

By Steven D. Greydanus of Decent Films Guide (8/0)
            Stuffed to bursting — with action, plotlines, characters, humor, energy, moods, spectacle a...

                         Reviews of Spider-Man 3
By Michael Booth of Denver Post (7/0)
            All in all, the fun has simply gone out of it.

By Robert Denerstein of Denver Rocky Mountain News (7/0)
            If there's a moral to be gleaned from Spider-Man 3 -- aside from the fact that heavily promoted f...

By John J. Puccio of DVDTown.com (8/0)
            Given the enormous $258,000,000 estimated budget for this movie, you'd think somebody would have ...

By Alex Markerson of E! Online (8/0)
            M.J. sings, Spidey dances, everybody cries and there's a suitable amount of punching.

By Alex Markerson of E! Online (8/0)
            Little wonder that when forced to contend with three supervillains and his own inner demons, Park...

By David Foucher of EDGE Boston (8/0)
            Dunst sings, Maguire stagnates, the script sags, and goo from outer space takes center stage. He...

                         Reviews of Spider-Man 3
By David Cornelius of eFilmCritic.com (8/0)
            Spider-Man 3 is three, maybe four movies clumsily crammed into one.

By Erik Childress of eFilmCritic.com (8/0)
            Raimi and his collaborators have fallen into the same traps that have ensnared both the Batman an...

By Emanuel Levy of EmanuelLevy.Com (8/0)
            Facing a tough challenge as a follow-up to the superlative Spidey 2, new segment is bigger (in bu...

By Chris Hewitt (UK) of Empire Magazine (8/0)
            Still smart, still exciting and still action-packed. It’s just a shame to note that, after promis...

By Vince Koehler of Entertainment Spectrum (8/0)
            It was great to see a much needed aggressive Spider-Man to contrast the normal nice boy character...

By Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly (8/0)
            Spider-Man 3 is product, but it's a machine that tickles your eyes.

                         Reviews of Spider-Man 3
By Eric D. Snider of EricDSnider.com (8/0)
            Despite its many flaws, I still essentially enjoyed the film, if not nearly as much as the previo...

By Kam Williams of EURWeb (8/0)
            Like Woody Allen in a mask and stretchy pants, he's your friendly neurotic Spider-Man.

By Eugene Novikov of Film Blather (8/0)
            For all its problems and miscalculations, the film is fascinating and gutsy in its sheer strangen...

By Walter Chaw of Film Freak Central (8/0)
            What saves the enterprise is its moral centre: there are consequences in this universe; every act...

By Kevin Lally of Film Journal International (7/1)
            Raimi and company have woven more graceful patterns in the past; this one simply doesn't cohere.

By Clint Morris of Film Threat (8/0)
            I think we’ve begun to expect so much from the Spider-Man movies that when one isn’t quite as goo...

                         Reviews of Spider-Man 3
By Pete Vonder Haar of Film Threat (8/0)
            "Don't shoot, fellas: it's the bass player from Fall Out Boy!"

By Sean O'Connell of filmcritic.com (8/0)
            ...definitely appears overstuffed.

By Edward Havens of FilmJerk.com (8/0)
            It's schizophrenic pacing and apathy towards its audience's acceptance means the film never needs...

By Victoria Alexander of FilmsInReview.com (8/0)
            A disappointment. Spidey keeps his mask off and weeps. Everyone cries. I hated the silly monolith...

By Brent Simon of FilmStew.com (8/0)
            Deserves two scores — one for outlandish ambition and effort, another for crazily juggled executi...

By MaryAnn Johanson of Flick Filosopher (8/0)
            Spider-Man 2... was alive with humor and humanity and spirit and soul. All of that is missing her...

                         Reviews of Spider-Man 3
By Rob Vaux of Flipside Movie Emporium (8/0)
            These people know what the hell they're doing, and after five years of practice, they're not abou...

By Jeffrey Lyles of Gazette (MD) (8/0)
            When it comes to comic book films, this will become the gold standard by which all subsequent fil...

By Eric Lurio of Greenwich Village Gazette (8/0)
             It's a huge budget Hollywood comic book blockbuster, you're going to see it anyway, and I'm not ...

By Peter Canavese of Groucho Reviews (8/0)
            Go-for-broke pop entertainment...more action, more humor, and more nastiness than either previous...

By Peter Bradshaw of Guardian [UK] (8/0)
            As he scampers around the bathtub of popular culture, Spidey is beginning to exhaust everyone's p...

By Ross Anthony of Hollywood Report Card (8/0)
            Magnificent 1st act, but flounders substantially for almost an entire hour. Loose ends begin to m...

                         Reviews of Spider-Man 3
By Michael Rechtshaffen of Hollywood Reporter (8/0)
            ...there's plenty to enjoy here...

By Amy Biancolli of Houston Chronicle (7/0)
            The script is busy with so many supporting characters and plot detours that the series' charming ...

By Todd Gilchrist of IGN Movies (8/0)
            What truly is most amazing about Spider-Man 3 (no pun intended) is that all objections are answer...

By Dragan Antulov of Index.hr (7/0)
            nastojanje da se "Spiderman" u%u010Dini "zna%u010Dajnijim" od obi%u010Dnog ljetnog blockbustera j...

By Steve Rhodes of Internet Reviews (8/0)
            As a wildly expensive popcorn movie, it delivers the goods nicely enough. Best of all, it's quite...

By Kevin Williamson of Jam! Movies (8/0)
            Spider-Man 3 isn't a bad film -- many scenes, taken on their own, are thrilling and even moving -...

                         Reviews of Spider-Man 3
By Beth Accomando of KPBS.org (8/0)
            The topper is Bruce Campbell's appearance as a French waiter. Campbell, who worked with Raimi in ...

By Nick Schager of Lessons of Darkness (8/0)
            A hollow shell of a saga devoid of both thrilling action and rousing passion.

By Andy Klein of Los Angeles CityBeat (8/0)
            The film's biggest problem is the same one that dogs every action-hero series: How long can you k...

By Kenneth Turan of Los Angeles Times (8/0)
            [Spider-Man 3 has] an ungainly, cumbersome feeling, as if its plot elements were the product of c...

By Mark Dujsik of Mark Reviews Movies (8/0)
            If the first sequel was superhero movie as soap opera, this is it approaching opera.

By Pete Hammond of Maxim (8/0)
            If most of the characters in this edition seem to be zigzagging in confusing fashion from good to...

                         Reviews of Spider-Man 3
By Duane Dudek of Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (8/0)
            A top-heavy, slow-moving and even carelessly assembled collection of often inexplicable tangents.

By Ken Hanke of Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) (8/0)
            If you're presold on it, you're likely to forgive the film's flaws -- or at least try to. If not,...

By Michael Elliott of Movie Parables (7/0)
            Sometimes the greatest battles are the ones we wage with ourselves.

By Mark Ramsey of MovieJuice! (8/0)
            Once you go black, you DO go back!

By Kurt Loder of MTV (8/0)
            At the screening I attended -- which was packed with real people, not just movie reviewers -- I t...

By Rex Reed of New York Observer (8/0)
            Over-produced, over-publicized, over-designed, over-computerized and just plain over the moon, it...

                         Reviews of Spider-Man 3
By Lou Lumenick of New York Post (8/0)
            This overstuffed treat...drags in spots.

By Manohla Dargis of New York Times (8/0)
            ...mostly just plods and plods along...

By David Ansen of Newsweek (7/0)
            Spider-Man 3 is nothing if not eclectic, but somehow this ambitious mishmash works. Action-packed...

By Michael A. Smith of Nolan's Pop Culture Review (8/0)
            The performances are top notch and the film, which gets off to a bang and ever lets up, is a grea...

By Ethan Alter of NYC Film Critic (7/0)
            What should have been a tightly focused narrative revolving around Peter, his girlfriend Mary Jan...

By Frank Swietek of One Guy's Opinion (8/0)
            Both overstuffed and undernourished...in the comics the Web-Slinger has occasionally lost his gri...

                         Reviews of Spider-Man 3
By Noel Murray of Onion AV Club (8/0)
            On the ground, Spider-Man 3 is dreary. But in the air, it swings.

By Mark Sells of Oregon Herald (8/0)
            Falls prey to Hollywood sequel subterfuge - namely, that bigger is always better.

By Cole Haddon of Orlando Weekly (8/0)
            When compared to just about every other Marvel comic-book movie released in the past couple of ye...

By Fiore Mastracci of Outtakes With Fiore (8/0)
            Terrible casting, terrible scripting, terrible special effects. If this is to be the last Spidey...

By Jeanne Aufmuth of Palo Alto Weekly (8/0)
            Despite an overwhelming sensation of been-there, done-that Tobey Maguire and company inject enoug...

By Mike Sage of Peterborough This Week (8/0)
            If you ever wondered what the Power Rangers could do with a $250 Million budget, just wait for th...

                         Reviews of Spider-Man 3
By Sean Burns of Philadelphia Weekly (8/0)
            Raimi makes just about every wrong move in the sequel playbook, substituting scope and scale for ...

By Jon Popick of Planet Sick-Boy (8/0)
            A good movie that has the misfortune of having some pretty big shoes to fill. In that respect, i...

By Bill Gibron of PopMatters (8/0)
            Spider-Man 3 is an 'almost' success...it 'almost' has us convinced that this trilogy will transce...

By Glenn Kenny of Premiere Magazine (8/0)
            This is a movie that's content to be pretty good within its genre, with the main distinction of b...

By James Kendrick of Q Network Film Desk (8/0)
            despite narrative bloat, it maintains much of the giddy-enthralling energy and emotional pathos t...

By Linda Cook of Quad City Times (Davenport, IA) (8/0)
            His entanglements are more contrived this time around, but Spidey still spins a good yarn.

                         Reviews of Spider-Man 3
By David Nusair of Reel Film Reviews (8/0)
            It seems likely that few viewers will walk away from the movie flat-out disappointed.

By Pam Grady of Reel.com (8/0)
            This is the stuff of Douglas Sirk, not comic books, and while that is bound to strike some fans a...

By Robin Clifford of Reeling Reviews (8/0)
            ...its variety of stories makes this sketchy feature entertaining for the non-fans dragged to it ...

By Jeffrey Chen of ReelTalk Movie Reviews (8/0)
            Simply put, things are just too crowded in Spider-Man 3 ... [but] I still had a wonderful time wi...

By James Berardinelli of ReelViews (8/0)
            ...this one is a misfire...

By Bob Grimm of Reno News and Review (8/0)
            It's as if director Raimi ingested a ton of Spidey comics, chased them with some crappy romance n...

                         Reviews of Spider-Man 3
By Michael Black of ReviewExpress.com (8/0)
            Despite having a storyline scattering in too many directions, Spider-Man 3 is a visually stunning...

By Jack Garner of Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (8/0)
            More is not better, even if it costs a reported $250 million. A good adventure story is better. A...

By Peter Travers of Rolling Stone (8/0)
            ...uneven, ungainly and frayed at the edges but there's lively mischief in it still.

By Jim Lane of Sacramento News & Review (8/0)
            Let's just say it's my third-favorite Spider-Man movie.

By Larry Ratliff of San Antonio Express-News (8/0)
            (Sam) Raimi, otherwise near-perfect in transitioning his once spider-bitten hero from Marvel Comi...

By Jean Lowerison of San Diego Metropolitan (8/0)
            Spidey is really a one-trick pony whose trick we saw plenty of in the first installment.

                         Reviews of Spider-Man 3
By David Elliott of San Diego Union-Tribune (8/0)
            It's a dynamic Spider-Man movie. Most of the familiars are back, the additions work well enough, ...

By Mick LaSalle of San Francisco Chronicle (8/0)
            ... it's not a difficult movie to sit through. It's just difficult to enjoy.

By Eric Melin of Scene-Stealers.com (8/0)
            Although Spider-Man 3 bites off a bit more than it can chew in the plotting department, it doesn'...

By James O'Ehley of Sci-Fi Movie Page (8/0)
            Proof that it pays keeping on the same creative team that made previous installments in your fran...

By Jim Judy of Screen It! (7/0)
            All told, the film is still moderately entertaining, although the individual parts are certainly ...

By Gina Carbone of Seacoast Newspapers (NH/Maine) (8/0)
            Pick two storylines, maybe, with one main villain. (I vote for Sandman, since the daughter angle ...

                         Reviews of Spider-Man 3
By Sean McBride of Sean the Movie Guy (8/0)
            a bit of a let down after the popcorn high that was Spider-Man 2.

By William Arnold of Seattle Post-Intelligencer (8/0)
            ...suffers the waning of inspiration that so frequently infects the third installments of great s...

By Moira MacDonald of Seattle Times (8/0)
            Maguire has made Peter/Spidey all his own; the supporting characters are marvelous, but it's his ...

By Rich Cline of Shadows on the Wall (8/0)
            This third instalment feels surprisingly uneven, even as it keeps us utterly entertained for the ...

By Ed Gonzalez of Slant Magazine (8/0)
            Is this Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3 or Aaron Spelling's?

By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat of Spirituality and Practice (8/0)
            A stirring morality play about the importance of choices in our lives, especially in regard to lo...

                         Reviews of Spider-Man 3
By Nick Rogers of State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL) (8/0)
            A browbeating domino effect of more, more, more with special effects that make things easier to s...

By Angela Baldassarre of Sympatico.ca (8/0)
            Sam Raimi tries really hard to tie up loose ends in "Spider-Man 3," overloading our poor threesom...

By Stuart McGurk of thelondonpaper (8/0)
            Not an awful film by any means. But you don’t need spidey sense to know this isn’t a patch on its...

By Charlotte O'Sullivan of This is London (8/0)
            It's easily the best of the trilogy and, for my money, one of the most enjoyable films of the dec...

By Derek Malcolm of This is London (8/0)
            Spider-Man 3 may disappoint those who think tongue-in-cheek spectacle is the only name of the gam...

By Richard Corliss of TIME Magazine (7/0)
            I liked it. To place a sensitive story in a male-epic genre -- to dramatize feelings of angst and...

                         Reviews of Spider-Man 3
By Ben Walters of Time Out (8/0)
            The tone is ultimately more subdued than your average superhero movie. Kudos to Raimi for making ...

By James Christopher of Times [UK] (8/0)
            It’s a towering disappointment.

By Gregory Weinkauf of ÜberCiné (8/0)
            The sequences of romantic struggle and heartache prove unusually touching for a superhero movie.

By Brian Tallerico of UnderGround Online (8/0)
            The first major summer movie of 2007 is going to leave fans very happy and probably justify repea...

By Claudia Puig of USA Today (8/0)
            ...an action-packed tale with the emotional heft and humor we've come to expect from the series.

By Susan Granger of www.susangranger.com (8/0)
            The webslinger's nimble, the action is intense but it's not the best of the franchise.

                         Reviews of Spider-Man 3
By John Beifuss of Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) (3/5) Login Required (Login Required)
            After spinning two wonderful superhero yarns, Raimi and his collaborators appear to be running lo...

By Chris Hewitt (St. Paul) of St. Paul Pioneer Press (5/5) Login Required (Login Required)
            What's left is about as thrilling as walking into a cobweb.

By Christy Lemire of Associated Press (4/4) No reference
            Spidey the Third feels like an even greater letdown following Spidey Part Deux, which was the rar...

By Shlomo Schwartzberg of Boxoffice Magazine (3/5) No reference
            The highly disappointing Spider-Man 3 has its touching moments, to be sure, but they’re few and f...

By Jonathan Rosenbaum of Chicago Reader (6/2) No reference
            Director Sam Raimi tries to pump some life into this dutiful enterprise but seems more than a lit...

By Richard Roeper of Chicago Sun-Times (7/1) No reference
            ...I was so disappointed by the meandering storylines, sub-par performances and lackluster bad gu...

                         Reviews of Spider-Man 3
By Michael Phillips of Chicago Tribune (5/3) No reference
            ...the franchise machinery doesn't entirely flatten the latest installment.

By Michelle Alexandria of Eclipse Magazine (7/1) No reference
            Too many characters is not the problem with this film. Raimi actually juggles everyone fairly wel...

By Scott Weinberg of FEARnet (6/2) No reference
            The first film in the series I'd choose to describe as "sloppy," and given the money and talent b...

By Bill Clark of FromTheBalcony (7/1) No reference
            If anything, Spider-Man 3 is another rude awakening as to just how important character developmen...

By James Sanford of Kalamazoo Gazette (7/1) No reference
            'Spider-Man 2' was one of the best films of its kind; by comparison, '3' registers as a perfectly...

By Robert W. Butler of Kansas City Star (3/5) No reference
            I liked that last Spider-Man so much that I walked into 3 will a full head of residual good will....

                         Reviews of Spider-Man 3
By Rene Rodriguez of Miami Herald (4/4) No reference
            This is a wonderfully imagined, heartfelt piece of pop entertainment that soars not only for its ...

By Nell Minow of Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies (7/1) No reference
            Too many villains. Too many plots. And way too many tears. Boy, is there a lot of crying in this ...

By Stephen Whitty of Newark Star-Ledger (3/5) No reference
            It's that willingness to give you more than you expect -- to refuse to settle in and just coast -...

By Shawn Levy of Oregonian (7/1) No reference
            Spider-Man 3 is a likeable film -- Maguire's personality, or Raimi's channeled through him, is ge...

By Wesley Lovell of Oscar Guy (7/1) No reference
            The utterly simplistic theme of revenge weaves through this jumbled hodge podge of depthless char...

By Steven Rea of Philadelphia Inquirer (7/1) No reference
            Spider-Man 3 kicks off this Summer of Sequels in big, loud, occasionally clever, but more often m...

                         Reviews of Spider-Man 3
By Mike Ward of Richmond.com (7/1) No reference
            Spidey promised bigger, bolder and better. Turns out he's a two-faced liar.

By Carla Meyer of Sacramento Bee (7/1) No reference
            It seems like the product of a filmmaking team with more money than ideas.

By Stephanie Zacharek of Salon.com (3/5) No reference
            Raimi at least manages to make it both huge and human.

By Phoebe Flowers of South Florida Sun-Sentinel (7/1) No reference
            The best installment of the saga yet, in large part because its villains are so much more compell...

By Johnny Vaughan of Sun Online (7/1) No reference
            Spider-Man 3 is top-notch entertainment but still fails to live up to the previous two outings.

By Joshua Rothkopf of Time Out New York (3/5) No reference
            Nap time. Perhaps it’s the weight of expectations, the rattle of a zillion calculators or the cur...

                         Reviews of Spider-Man 3
By Jonathan Dean of Total Film (3/5) No reference
            Not as sinister as expected, but Raimi has spun a deft exercise in popcorn thrills. Hold on and e...

By Matthew Turner of ViewLondon (3/5) No reference
            The effects are amazing and fans will enjoy the references to the comics, but the film is somethi...

By Daniel M. Kimmel of Worcester Telegram & Gazette (4/4) No reference
            [It] moves at such a fast and entertaining pace that you can't help but enjoy the ride.

By Harvey S. Karten of Compuserve (7/1) Not Reachable
            An exhilarating balance of action and romance, this Spidey is intricately detailed, weaving the s...

Movie Distributors
Sony Pictures Releasing
Sony Pictures Releasing International

Production Companies
Laura Ziskin Productions
Renaissance Pictures
Marvel Studios

Movie Studios
Columbia Pictures
Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group